Podcast Summary: The Ops Experts Club Podcast

Episode 70: How Fast Can You Start Making Money Off a New Hire

Date: June 19, 2025
Hosts: Aaron & Taryn (The Collab Team)

Episode Overview

This episode tackles a crucial and often misunderstood topic for entrepreneurs and operations professionals: How fast can you expect a new hire to start making you money? Drawing from collective experience managing operations for high-profile entrepreneurs and both “hands-on” and online businesses, Aaron and Taryn dissect the realities of hiring, onboarding, and integrating new team members for maximum ROI. The discussion is rich with real-life examples, practical strategies, and actionable advice for business leaders aiming to scale efficiently.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Visionary’s Dilemma: Cost vs ROI of New Hires

Timestamps: [02:14]–[04:23]

• Visionaries often feel financial strain and expect new hires to quickly generate returns, especially with high outflows for salaries, ads, and operations.
• Reality: “Not immediately is the answer.” (C, [03:26])
• Hiring is not just about salary—hidden costs include the time and resources to onboard and integrate new team members.

Notable Quote

"Your people are your highest investment... How quick can we expect a turnaround on dollars invested in employees?"
— Aaron ([02:14])

2. The Two Paths: Hire Cheap & Grow vs. Hire Experienced

Timestamps: [04:23]–[06:22]

• Hire cheap and grow internally: Slower ROI, requires significant investment in training and culture.
• Hire highly experienced people: Faster ramp-up, but risk of cultural misalignment and a tendency for seasoned hires to want leadership posts rather than hands-on work.

Notable Quote

“The danger of highly experienced people is... they might not realize that you want them to do the doing.”
— Aaron ([05:23])

3. Onboarding: The Imperative of Culture Transfer

Timestamps: [07:15]–[09:56]

• Delegation and elevation (from EOS/Traction) are essential.

• Structured onboarding—clear SOPs, videos, documentation, and culture-building—accelerates ROI and minimizes friction.

• Without proper onboarding, even the best hire may “pollute your culture or dilute your culture at least if you don't give them the right amount of time with you...”
  — Aaron ([08:58])

• In some industries, it’s preferable to hire people with no experience to avoid “untraining” their habits.

Notable Moment

Aaron and Taryn reminisce about their days in coffee shops, emphasizing how hiring for cultural fit and training from scratch often yielded better results ([09:43]).

4. Online vs. In-person Hires: Challenges in the Digital Space

Timestamps: [09:56]–[11:59]

• The intangible nature of selling in the online world (vs. brick-and-mortar) requires extra care in onboarding.
• Without strong SOPs and training, new hires may deliver inconsistent customer experiences, especially in fast-moving digital businesses.

Notable Quote

“The downside to rushing in a new hire... is that you're probably going to get a culture confusion moment with your customers and with your team.”
— Aaron ([11:37])

5. The Hustle Phase: When to Hire & How to Pilot New Work

Timestamps: [11:59]–[15:26]

• Sometimes, founders must hard-carry a new product or service to prove viability before making a hire.
• Leaders should be clear on their financials before hiring (“Nobody likes to be the person that hires somebody and then fires somebody a month later because you ran out of money." — Aaron, [12:37]).
• Best practice: Pilot new products leanly using current team, show appreciation for the extra effort, and be hands-on as the founder before scaling through hiring.

Memorable Story

Aaron shares a vision of the founder leading from the front—taking extra sales calls, working longer hours while documenting processes, so that the eventual hire has a successful SOP to follow ([13:37]).

6. Documenting for Delegation: SOPs, Gap Analyzer, & Quality Control

Timestamps: [15:47]–[19:43]

• The Collab Team’s Gap Analyzer quickly visualizes team roles and workload, highlighting areas ready for delegation.
• Creating and updating SOPs (standard operating procedures) is non-negotiable for successful handoff.
• Process documentation can be streamlined using tools like Loom and AI, even for smaller businesses.
• Emphasis on quality control and incremental delegation—expect ongoing spot checks and process improvements as you hand off responsibilities.

Notable Quote

"You can't hand anything off that hasn't been SOP and standard operating procedure. Until you line those things out, there's no way that anybody could possibly take over behind you."
— Aaron ([16:58])

7. Leadership, Patience, and the Myth of the "Instant ROI" Hire

Timestamps: [19:46]–[21:30]

• Be patient. Immediate ROI from a new hire isn’t realistic.
• Properly onboarding and integrating new hires is an investment that pays off over time.
• Hiring is not about finding a “clone” of yourself, but someone you can coach, empower, and leverage for broader business growth.

Soundbite

"Nobody can be you better than you be you, you know, so you're not hiring a 'you' replacement, you're hiring somebody you can hopefully train and coach and lead to be in the next best thing."
— Taryn ([21:15])

8. Celebrate Team Diversity

Timestamps: [21:30]–[22:18]

• The Collab Team prides itself on celebrating differing backgrounds and perspectives to reach broader audiences and operate more resiliently.
• Diversity in hiring, paired with strong culture/vision onboarding, is a secret to scalable success.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:26] C (Taryn): “The cost of an employee is more than their salary—it's the time it takes to get them up to speed.”
• [05:23] A (Aaron): “The danger of highly experienced people is... they might not realize that you want them to do the doing.”
• [08:58] A (Aaron): “Sometimes the downside to experience is they bring in all that experience and sometimes that experience might pollute your culture...”
• [12:37] A (Aaron): “Nobody likes to be the person that hires somebody and then fires somebody a month later because you ran out of money.”
• [16:58] A (Aaron): “You can't hand anything off that hasn't been SOP and standard operating procedure.”
• [21:15] C (Taryn): “Nobody can be you better than you be you...”
• [21:30] A (Aaron): “Celebrate diversity... the more diverse you can make your business, the more you're going to appeal to the masses.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Setting expectations for ROI on new hires | [02:14] | | Cheap vs. experienced hiring strategies | [04:23] | | Importance of onboarding and SOPs | [07:15] | | The online/remote work challenge | [09:56] | | Piloting/side-hustle phase before hiring | [11:59] | | Gap Analyzer tool and systemization | [15:47] | | Leadership & process for successful hire | [19:46] | | Celebrating diversity in teams | [21:30] |

Actionable Advice & Takeaways

• Expect a ramp-up period. No one makes you money “Day One”—investment in onboarding and cultural integration is key.
• Know when (and whom) to hire. Base decisions on financial metrics, pilot new business lines leanly, and only hire when justified.
• Document Everything. The faster you build SOPs, the faster new hires can produce positive ROI.
• Lead by example. Be the hardest worker, especially when piloting new ventures before hiring.
• Don’t hire a clone. Seek diversity to round out your team’s strengths and broaden appeal.
• Be patient. Sustainable business growth rarely happens overnight.

Episode in a Nutshell:
Hiring is a long game. Short-term payback is rare, but with thoughtful onboarding, robust systems, and leadership by example, your new hires can become major growth engines for your business. Know your numbers, document your processes, and always invest in your team’s understanding of your culture and goals.